The information system as a competitive weapon
Communications of the ACM - Special section on management of information systems
“Convincing top management of the strategic potential of information systems"
Management Information Systems Quarterly
An assessment of the contingency theory of management information systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
Sustaining IT advantage: the role of structural differences
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on the strategic use of information systems
The productivity paradox of information technology
Communications of the ACM
Journal of Management Information Systems
Information management as perceived by CIOs in three pacific rim countries
Journal of Global Information Management
Putting the enterprise into the enterprise system
Harvard Business Review
Issues and opinion on structural equation modeling
MIS Quarterly
Information Technology Effects on Firm Performance As Measured by Tobin's Q
Management Science
Enterprise resource planning: ERP adoption by European midsize companies
Communications of the ACM
Enterprise resource planning: cultural fits and misfits: is ERP a universal solution?
Communications of the ACM
Dimensionality of the Strategic Grid Framework: the Construct and its Measurement
Information Systems Research
The Dynamics of Alignment: Insights from a Punctuated Equilibrium Model
Organization Science
Alignment Between Business and IS Strategies: A Study of Prospectors, Analyzers, and Defenders
Information Systems Research
IT acceptance: managing user—IT group boundaries
ACM SIGMIS Database
Key predictors of the implementation of strategic information systems plans
ACM SIGMIS Database
Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases
Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases
Executives' perceptions of the business value of information technology: a process-oriented approach
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special issue: Impacts of information technology investment on organizational performance
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special issue: Impacts of information technology investment on organizational performance
Information Systems Research
Journal of Management Information Systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
ERP Misfit: Country of Origin and Organizational Factors
Journal of Management Information Systems
Identifying Software Project Risks: An International Delphi Study
Journal of Management Information Systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
The Impact of ERP Implementation on Business Process Outcomes: A Factor-Based Study
Journal of Management Information Systems
The Role of Information Systems Resources in ERP Capability Building and Business Process Outcomes
Journal of Management Information Systems
International Journal of Business Information Systems
Evaluation criteria for assessing the usability of ERP systems
Proceedings of the 2009 Annual Research Conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists
A Decision Table for the Cloud Computing Decision in Small Business
Information Resources Management Journal
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In 1984, McFarlan suggested in his HBR article that a company might be able to use Information Technology (IT) to achieve strategic advantage in the marketplace. Although widely cited and recently elaborated on (Nolan & McFarlan, 2005), there is little empirical evidence to support it in the specific context of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems where IT is especially posed to have such a major impact. The objective of this study is to fill this gap, applying a contingency approach. The results, supporting Nolan and McFarlan (2005), show that while some ERP systems provide strategic advantage to some companies, ERP systems may not necessarily provide similar advantage to other companies due to the specific operational characteristics of each company and the way the ERP is used. The data collected from senior managers in different manufacturing companies who were closely involved in the implementation of ERP systems in their respective companies, show that McFarlan's (1984) and Nolan and McFarlan's (2005) propositions about IT in general apply also to ERP. Both competitive strategies enabled by the ERP and specific operational characteristics can place the organization in a strategic position, and when this happens, the IT unit is more likely to be under the authority of senior management. These findings seem to contradict Carr (2003) who clamed that IT cannot provide a company with competitive advantage.